May 2010

05/03/2010 10:33

From the Pastor

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Working on my last class. Two books to read and a few papers to write. I want to thank Janet Helmbold for being my editor and coach on these last few classes. I will also thank Carol Weinert who also edited my papers before retiring. So I will be heading down in June. Polly is not able to go with me in June so being concerned she talked me into flying down so I would not have to drive down and back alone. This will give me more time to practice with my new Yo-yo….

I want to give special thanks to Shirley Reno and Sandy Houghton for all the work they put into the rummage sale. They worked all day Friday setting up and pricing, and thanks to all who donated to the project. There was quite a mob when the sale first opened at 9:00am and was steady for a couple of hours. So much on the small talk. I have been trying to increase my exercise activity by walking and using our stationary bike and stretching. I have in my office twelve longevity tips by Bob Delmonteque (I don’t know who he is or where I got it) but he talks about exercising regularly, maintain a nutritious diet (Polly makes sure of that, but I do cheat occasionally) get plenty of rest (working on that) drink lots of water (not the city water) Reinforce your mental and spiritual balance (I do pray a lot and read a lot), keep your mind active (I don’t have any problems with this one), maintain good posture (working on this), participate in your community ( this I am doing), recognize and eliminate sources of stress in your life (this will happen after August, school is out), have a passion for life ( no problem there), maintain your self esteem ( it states when feeling down take a shower and put on nice clothes) and last invest in your health (always striving to improve) Well they are some great tips but they are just tips if you don’t do anything about them. We also have tips about how we should improve our Christian life, like reading the Bible, especially the Gospels, to see how Jesus lived and taught and healed and treated others. Yes, the tips are there but unless you read and act upon them, they are just words in a book. I close with this saying: “The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you”. (Author unknown)

Women's News

--Carol Weinert

More than 60 women from all across the Marquette District attended the UMW Spiritual Growth Retreat recently here in Manistique. Deacon Diane Griffin from Howell, Mich., led the program entitled "Amazing Grace." Through discussion, interaction among our table mates, and videos, we explored the three elements of grace: prevenient grace, justifying grace, and sanctifying grace. And, of course, a special feature of the retreat was the fellowship among Christian women.

If you missed this event, I encourage you to consider attending next year. Plans are already underway. It will be held April 8 and 9 and the place will once again be at the Comfort Inn in Manistique. Watch for more details as they become available.

I’m sad to report that the Munising UMW Unit will not be having a May luncheon meeting this year as they had invited us to for the past few years. Katie Putnam said their members are becoming too few and too "up in years" to continue the tradition. I’m sure we are sorry to see the event discontinued as we always had a great time fellowshipping with our "sisters" to the North.

Thus said, we will continue on with our Naomi Circle meeting to be held Wednesday, May 5, at 1:30 PM in the church Fellowship Hall. Louise Burson will be the hostess for the day. Please join us for an informative program and fellowship.

Another important May activity is our monthly visit to Medicare to present a brief worship program. The date for this month’s visit is Monday, May 3, at 10 AM. New visitors are always welcome.

Plans are in the works for our annual August luncheon meeting. This will be held Wednesday, August 4, at noon in Fellowship Hall of the church. The program will be presented by a representative of Voices for Youth.

This "mission" has recently been launched in Manistique and has been helping troubled and "displaced" youth in our community for about a year. Plan now to come and learn about this important program right here in our area. We encourage you to bring cleaning items, paper products, and food staples to this meeting to help meet some of the needs of this organization. Items brought to the meeting will be credited toward our Unit’s In-gathering project for 2010.

Don’t forget the UMW Reading Program! There are still more than 4 months to meet the four-book reading requirement for 2010 credit and we have some new and exciting books on the shelves in our corner of the library. I do remind you to sign out any books you take (and include your name!) I have noticed that some sign-outs have listed the book title but did not include the name of the borrower. Also, when you return the books, please scratch your name and book title off the list.

Phyllis Burge would like to remind those with "prayer partners" from the Prayer Calendar to remember their birthdays and to pray for them and send them words of support and encouragement.

Spotlight on Missions

Norma Johnson

Missions Coordinator

Sager-Brown

A historic Methodist commitment to service and a significant piece of Black history

Sager-Brown began in 1867 when a group of white women in New Orleans formed an orphanage and school for African-Americans boys who had been orphaned by the Civil War, teaching them to read and write. It was funded primarily by a predecessor to the Black College Fund of The United Methodist Church and by John Baldwin, a plantation owner in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.

The school in Baldwin, Louisiana, grades one through eight, became known as Godman Industrial School. Dr. W.D. Godman and his wife directed the school and orphanage and were also responsible for building a Methodist church on the property. When, in the early 1900s, the orphanage fell into dire financial straits, Dr. and Mrs. Godman took its student choir, the Jubliee Singers, on a tour of the northeastern United States to raise money. Mrs. Addie Sager and Mrs. C. W. Brown became familiar with the plight of the orphanage through a concert given for the North Central New York Methodist Conference.

Sager and Brown purchased the school and gave it to the Women’s Home Mission Society, paving the way for the Women’s Division of The United Methodist Church to operate it.

The institution became known as Sager-Brown Home and Godman School until 1978, when it closed; and it stayed vacant until 1992, 14 years later, when Hurricane Andrew hit the coast of south Louisiana, causing major damage to the area around Baldwin.

UMCOR came to the area with volunteers and supplies and used the old Sager-Brown campus to state operations. After two years, UMCOR determined that the Sager-Brown campus would be an excellent location on which to build an UMCOR depot, from which disaster relief could be provided to the world. The depot opened in 1996.

Atlantic Street Center Rejoices at Birthday Bash

Founded nearly 100 years ago, Atlantic Street Center in Seattle, Washington, celebrates its 100th birthday in spring 2010. In response to a large number of Italian immigrants relocating to Seattle’s Rainier Valley in 1910, the center evolved to address the educational and social needs of those immigrants who didn’t speak English and who had difficulty finding employment.

Today, although the dynamics of the population may have changed, Atlantic Street Center continues to address those basic needs of more than 3,000 multiethnic and low-income families, who are mainly of African and Asian descent, from Seattle’s central and southeast neighborhoods. Classes in English as a second language and life-skills programs are still being provided to promote self-improvement.

Atlantic Street Center serves children and youth from 2 to 18 years of age and their families. It strives to help the children flourish academically, emotionally, and socially, while at the same time, helping them develop the skills they need to succeed in adulthood and become productive persons.

By Tylie Waters, New World Outlook, editorial assistant. Written from information provided by the Atlantic Street Center Website

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Picture Page

Pastor Don and Polly delivered Easter baskets to the shut-ins. Not pictured is Clara Mersnick.

So many wonderful items were donated for our rummage sale as you can see from this picture. Thank you to all!!!

WHERE DOES OUR MONEY GO?

Have you ever wondered just how your gifts to missions are used when they reach their destination? Well, we have received

a partial answer to that question. In 2009 this church contributed to Cass Community Social Services in Detroit. According

to the annual report we received, our dollars helped to save the environment by generating electricity used in shelters run

by the agency; provided jobs for homeless men and women; provided temporary housing for those in need of a place to live;

bought equipment which enabled chronically unemployed and underemployed persons to learn new job skills; fed the hungry; and

in numerous ways improved the quality of life for hundreds of individuals by offering opportunities to learn new skills while

having physical and emotional needs addressed. Of course, we didn't do this all by ourselves; the challenge would have been

beyond our means. However, when pooled with the contributions of other churchs, individuals, foundations, and governmental

grants, our gifts helped in a dramatic way to provide the means to meet pressing needs right here in Michigan.

If you would like more information on the programs offered by Cass Community Social Services, take a look at the annual

report for 2009 available in our church office.

We also received letters from UMCOR acknowledging and thanking us for our gifts. A total of $776 funded programs that fight hunger and poverty, assisted the displaced and the devastation of Haiti after the massive earthquake.

Your gifts and prayers really do make a difference in the lives of many.

LAY LEADER LINES

Q: Sometimes the minister’s sermons are really good, but sometimes they just don’t inspire me much. Shouldn’t the sermons always be inspiring?

A: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every sermon delivered by every minister was tremendously inspirational to every member of every congregation? If ministers are preaching sermons in Heaven, that may be a possibility there. However, this is still earth. What may inspire one person might bore another. That’s because as individuals we have varying needs and concerns, and not everybody in a congregation is at the same place in his or her Christian walk at any given time. So, if you’ve been inspired by a sermon, that’s great! The minister preached that sermon just for you! If you weren’t inspired, it’s because the sermon that Sunday was preached for somebody else. It also means that you should come back next week, because there may be another sermon preached just for you next week! You won’t know unless you’re there.

Q: I’ve heard of ministers getting their sermons from the Internet instead of writing their own messages. That doesn’t seem quite right to me. Isn’t that cheating?

A: There are many good ideas and much inspirational information available from a wide range of resources, including the Internet. Ministers may use these materials to inspire and provide information for their sermons. That is not cheating, but rather, enables the pastor to use fresh ideas and insights to provide the basis for a message for the congregation. It is certainly possible that some ministers may go beyond this and deliver sermons which originated elsewhere rather than from their own minds. However in our church the minister writes his own sermons, each and every Sunday. While he gathers ideas from numerous sources, he uses the material to create his own message.